Yup, suck it up and get it however you can. You need it, no two ways around it.
Personally, I did an after hours program that was flexible and let me go while working 60hrs a week. It took a little longer but it was better for me.
Ask your jatc about government grants. I got mine when you just needed to take the test not this new 40 hour requirement. The JATC had all the paper work, came to the classroom and told us to fill them out and they turned them in for us. It was awesome. I had to take a 10 hour class, 8 driving and 2 being the test. I didn’t pay a dime. Do your own homework on grants if they don’t do it for you. A couple hours searching the web or making phone calls is way cheaper (and faster as you’re not working to earn the money for the class) than paying for it yourself. Good luck
I got a personal loan from the bank to pay for a CDL school. Got my CDL, signed up for the workbooks as a groundman truckdriver & paid off the loan within a few months after I got in. Still waiting on a call for an apprenticeship.
My son got his class A from a school in Fontana CA. It was about $3500-$4000 all in. Best price I could find. Be sure to get an unrestricted license that allows you to drive stick shift & might as well get a tanker endorsement. The school was not impressive to see but the results were as advertised & now he’s working on a crew in CO.
In NYS
Class b is basically a dump truck, box truck, etc with a *registered gross weight* over over 26k, no trailer allowed. Air brakes, standard shift are endorsements, so take the test with a standard rig with air brakes.
Class a is any truck & trailer combo *registered gross weight * over 26k. Air & standard are additional endorsements, so same as above, take the road test with a truck that has standard & air brakes.
Haz mat, tank, overweight, etc are all additional endorsements.
Registered gross weight means what the max allowed weight the vehicle could carry, not how much you currently weigh, so even driving empty, you’d still be out of class if pulled over with the wrong license.
Ah righto, I was just curious if it was once you had your CDL you could drive anything
Here in NZ, we have 6 classes of licence:-
.Class 1 is vehicles up to 6000kg (13k lb)
.Class 2 is trucks up to 18000kg (40k lb)
.Class 3 is truck and trailer up to 25000kg (55k lb)
.Class 4 is truck over 18000kg
.Class 5 is truck and trailer over 25000kg
.Class 6 is motor bike
There's some exceptions for tractors, caravans etc. We have endorsements for passengers (bus driver) and dangerous goods but nothing for manual or air brakes. You can get your Class 2 in 2 days for $1800.
Certain lineman schools offer a CDL as well as all the other minimum credentials you need to help you stand out. A lot of community colleges offer programs so you don’t have to go to the big schools that cost $20,000, but it’ll still be a few thousand. I always see guys here saying “drop $7,000 on a shitty cdl class” instead of dropping the same cash to just go to a line school to get more credentials AND learn more about the trade you’re getting into. Granted this all depends how much free time you have. You could get a job where they’ll give a cdl but that takes a long time (usually a couple years commitment) or do weekend classes on shitty cdl schools lol.
I got in with a company that got our CDL As for us. We got paid hourly while I’m driving school, and no out of pocket cost for the course/test. Im very fortunate and grateful for that, because the Class A courses here in NJ are about $7,000 and are booked up for a year out. We have to go to a state approved CDL school here, because NJ is an authoritarian hellhole
Thanks everyone I've come to the realization it's either going to take time, money or both to get in. I guess I just have to figure what's best for my situation/makes more sense
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So I’m going to line school at a community technical college. Many arguments on if it’s needed or not, but it cost just as much as a driving school around here and they’ll give me my cdls during the lineman school. So I was gonna have to go to school anyways might as well get some knowledge on the trade
Yup, suck it up and get it however you can. You need it, no two ways around it. Personally, I did an after hours program that was flexible and let me go while working 60hrs a week. It took a little longer but it was better for me.
A lot of technical colleges offer CDL courses as well as some community colleges.
Ask your jatc about government grants. I got mine when you just needed to take the test not this new 40 hour requirement. The JATC had all the paper work, came to the classroom and told us to fill them out and they turned them in for us. It was awesome. I had to take a 10 hour class, 8 driving and 2 being the test. I didn’t pay a dime. Do your own homework on grants if they don’t do it for you. A couple hours searching the web or making phone calls is way cheaper (and faster as you’re not working to earn the money for the class) than paying for it yourself. Good luck
I got a personal loan from the bank to pay for a CDL school. Got my CDL, signed up for the workbooks as a groundman truckdriver & paid off the loan within a few months after I got in. Still waiting on a call for an apprenticeship.
My son got his class A from a school in Fontana CA. It was about $3500-$4000 all in. Best price I could find. Be sure to get an unrestricted license that allows you to drive stick shift & might as well get a tanker endorsement. The school was not impressive to see but the results were as advertised & now he’s working on a crew in CO.
Find an American job center. Or if you have any type of disability, find a department of rehabilitation. They will pay for Trucking school
You can find some that aren’t for semi truck drivers(not so in depth) and they’ll be cheaper and only a week long. Mine was only $1800
I don’t believe that’s an option with the new dot rules
Idk man, I haven’t heard. There’s not a ton of them but the one in my state is still open.
Out of interest, what does a CDL let you drive?
In NYS Class b is basically a dump truck, box truck, etc with a *registered gross weight* over over 26k, no trailer allowed. Air brakes, standard shift are endorsements, so take the test with a standard rig with air brakes. Class a is any truck & trailer combo *registered gross weight * over 26k. Air & standard are additional endorsements, so same as above, take the road test with a truck that has standard & air brakes. Haz mat, tank, overweight, etc are all additional endorsements. Registered gross weight means what the max allowed weight the vehicle could carry, not how much you currently weigh, so even driving empty, you’d still be out of class if pulled over with the wrong license.
Ah righto, I was just curious if it was once you had your CDL you could drive anything Here in NZ, we have 6 classes of licence:- .Class 1 is vehicles up to 6000kg (13k lb) .Class 2 is trucks up to 18000kg (40k lb) .Class 3 is truck and trailer up to 25000kg (55k lb) .Class 4 is truck over 18000kg .Class 5 is truck and trailer over 25000kg .Class 6 is motor bike There's some exceptions for tractors, caravans etc. We have endorsements for passengers (bus driver) and dangerous goods but nothing for manual or air brakes. You can get your Class 2 in 2 days for $1800.
Ah cool! Motorcycle is it’s own license here, buses are an extra endorsement.
Around $7,000 for a class A course by me
Go to your local job center and look into a WIOA grant.
Certain lineman schools offer a CDL as well as all the other minimum credentials you need to help you stand out. A lot of community colleges offer programs so you don’t have to go to the big schools that cost $20,000, but it’ll still be a few thousand. I always see guys here saying “drop $7,000 on a shitty cdl class” instead of dropping the same cash to just go to a line school to get more credentials AND learn more about the trade you’re getting into. Granted this all depends how much free time you have. You could get a job where they’ll give a cdl but that takes a long time (usually a couple years commitment) or do weekend classes on shitty cdl schools lol.
My apprenticeship sent me to CDL school. It was fully paid for with no contract to pay anything back if I left.
What apprenticeship did you join? The closest one to me is the Cal/Nev JATC and they require you to get it before applying
Apply to the utility companies in the area (Edison,SDGE)
Yeah waiting for positions to open up. Got my alerts for sdge line assistant
I’m at a utility company. Seems like they usually have good apprenticeships.
I found a truck driver school hours away from me that offered to be able to pay by the day. I tested after each day until I passed. Passed on day 3.
I got in with a company that got our CDL As for us. We got paid hourly while I’m driving school, and no out of pocket cost for the course/test. Im very fortunate and grateful for that, because the Class A courses here in NJ are about $7,000 and are booked up for a year out. We have to go to a state approved CDL school here, because NJ is an authoritarian hellhole
Thanks everyone I've come to the realization it's either going to take time, money or both to get in. I guess I just have to figure what's best for my situation/makes more sense
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So I’m going to line school at a community technical college. Many arguments on if it’s needed or not, but it cost just as much as a driving school around here and they’ll give me my cdls during the lineman school. So I was gonna have to go to school anyways might as well get some knowledge on the trade
I was thinking about line school but it's a big inconvenience not having income during those 15 weeks
Yeah that was a big issue for me but I’ve saved up for a few preparing and I’m blessed to be able to fall back on my parents if I really had to
Spent 6k to get mine. Did the weekends. Worked out pretty well.
I just started as an apprentice w/o a cdl and my company is paying to send me. Working in transmissions for a utility.
Apply for pike they have a 2 week CDL driving school all graduate obtain CDL after completion
Then u die